We keep good food from
going to waste and get it
to desperate families.

Mobile Food Pantries: A West Michigan idea, now rolling nationwide.

Most of the food Feeding America West Michigan distributes gets to people through a network of local food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.

Fresh food, which is what our clients need most, has a short shelf life and needs to get into their hands quickly, and many of these agencies simply don’t have the means to store and distribute perishable food. That’s why, in 1998, the Food Bank turned a used beverage truck into its first Mobile Food Pantry.

Mobile Pantries are like farmers’ markets on wheels, delivering a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and bread to people in need, often on the same day the food is donated. Hosted by churches, schools, and community centers, each Mobile Pantry can feed between 100 and 200 households. Today, this model is being used by food banks across the country.